What's Required Each local educational agency (LEA) must establish an admission, review and dismissal (ARD) committee for each eligible child with a disability and for each child for whom an initial Full and Individual Evaluation is conducted 19 TAC 89.1050 The ARD/IEP Committee is the: (1) Eligiblity team defined in federal law IDEA 2004, 34 CFR 300.306 (2) Individualized education program (IEP) team definded in federal law IDEA 2004, 34 CFR 300.321 (3) Placement team defined in federal law IDEA 2004,34 CFR 300.116. The term IEP means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed and revised in accordance with the ARD/IEP committee framework. The ARD committee must review the child's IEP periodically, but not less frequently than annually, to determine whether the annual goals are being achieved. The ARD committee must determine the child's placement at least annually 34 CFR 300.116(b)(1). The ARD/IEP Committee may meet more often than annually to revise the student’s IEP, as appropriate, to address: (a) any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals, (b) the results of any reevaluation, (c) information about the student provided to, or by the parents, (d) anticipated needs of the student or (e) other concerns. A parent may request an ARD/IEP committee meeting (at a mutually agreeable time) at any time to discuss educational concerns such as placement, IEP goals and objectives, and the extent of services being provided to the student. The school must either grant the parent’s request to have a meeting or contact the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to ask for assistance through mediation.
The ARD committee means a group of individuals composed of:
The parents of a child with a disability
Not less than one regular education teacher of the child
Not less than one special education teacher
A representative of the local education agency (LEA)
An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of the evaluation
Other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child
The child with a disability, whenever appropriate
A teacher who is certified in the education of children with auditory impairments for a child with a suspected or documented auditory impairment including suspected or documented deaf-blindness
A member of the language proficiency assessment committee (LPAC) when determining participation in state and district-wide assessments for a child with limited English proficiency, to address the child's language needs; and
A representative from Career and Technical Education (CTE), preferably the teacher when considering initial or continued placement of a child in CTE.
What We Do The IEP must be in effect at the beginning of each school year for every student with a disability. The ARD/IEP Committee includes the following participants (general composition):
A representative from the school district who is qualified to supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities, who is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum, and who is knowledgeable about the availability of resources in the school district
The student's current special education teacher or special education provider who must be appropriately certified or licensed
The appropriate general education teacher(s) who is responsible for implementing a portion of the student’s IEP for those students who are receiving, or who are expected to receive, instruction in general education
The student, the student's parent(s), and/or a designated representative participates as follows:
A student 18 years of age or older who has not been judged by a court of law to be incompetent to manage personal affairs or who has not relinquished rights to parents in writing will participate in his/her ARD/IEP meeting.
A parent participates if the student is younger than 18 years of age, if the student is 18 years of age or older and has been judged by an appropriate court of law to be incompetent to manage personal affairs,or if an adult student has relinquished rights to his/her parent(s) in writing.
The district must be notified of a designated representative.
Other professional certified specialists as required:
Speech therapist when students with speech impairments are being considered
A representative from the evaluation team for initial evaluations, reevaluations, and other times when necessary
A professional certified in the education of students with auditory impairments when students with auditory impairments are being considered
A professional certified in the education of the visually impaired when students with visual impairments are being considered
The Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher who will instruct the student is a member when the committee is considering placement in a CTE program.
The Transition Coach when special education career and technology classes and or Community Based Vocational Instruction (CBVI) are being considered
The appropriate other instructional (i.e., adapted P.E.) and related services personnel (i.e., occupational therapist, physical therapist, and in-home trainer, etc.) when necessary
A professional representing the Language Proficiency Advisory Committee (LPAC) when a student with disabilities and limited English proficiency is being considered
A member of the ARD/IEP committee may be excused from attending part or all of the ARD/IEP committee meeting when the person’s attendance is not necessary due to the person’s area of the curriculum or related service not being modified or discussed in the meeting.
A member of the ARD/IEP Committee may also be excused from attending an ARD/IEP committee meeting when the meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the member’s area of curriculum or related service if:
The parent and the district agree
The agreement is in writing
The parties agree that the person’s area of the curriculum or related services is not being changed or discussed in the meeting
The person being excused submits written input into the development of the IEP to the parent and the rest of the ARD/IEP Committee
The written input is submitted before the meeting
Duties of the ARD/IEP Committee The ARD/IEP Committee makes decisions concerning the educational program for students who are eligible to receive special education services. Among other responsibilities, the ARD/IEP Committee performs the following functions:
Reviews data from the student’s assessments and evaluations
Establishes eligibility for special education services
Develops and reviews the IEP which may include: ESY Services, Behavior, Graduation, Transition, and Transportation
Provides an audio-taped copy of the student’s ARD/IEP committee meeting in the parent’s native language if the parent does not speak and understand English
Provide for educational placement in the least restrictive environment appropriate to meet the needs of the student
Makes decisions regarding promotion or retention of the student receiving special education services
Makes decisions about student participation in extra curricular activities
. Duties of the ARD/IEP Chairperson and or Case Manager
Coordinate scheduling of ARD/IEP committee meetings at a time mutually acceptable to the parent/adult student and other members.
Provide the parent/adult student with written notice of ARD/IEP committee meetings at least 5 school days prior to the meeting.
Ensure the Notice of Procedural Safeguards are provided to parent/adult student or guardian with the Notice of ARD/IEP committee meeting for an initial or evaluation ARD/IEP committee meeting, and, at least annually, thereafter.
Record the Notice of the ARD/IEP committee meeting and Notice of Procedural Safeguards on the Record of Communication form located in the student's special education eligibility folder.
Identify or act as case manager for each student to ensure the implementation of instructional and related services.
Facilitate the ARD/IEP committee meeting and appoint a scribe to take the minutes/deliberations.
Facilitate resolution of problematic ARD/IEP committee meetings.
Monitor the input of information in the special education data management system (EasyIEP™)
Encourage parents to resolve concerns at the campus level, appropriate field office, or central office.
Ensure that proceedings of the ARD/IEP committee meetings are recorded.
Ensure follow-up of all the issues.
ARD/IEP Committee Training All ARD/IEP committee members, including all administrators who participate on the committee, will be trained annually. Training will include information on new federal, state, and local guidelines related to the implementation of special education services. A representative of the special education support staff will provide training and or training information/resources.
Guidelines for ARD/IEP Meetings Review these guidelines to ensure that meetings are held in an effective, efficient, and respectful manner:
ARD/IEP meetings should be conducted efficiently. It is advised that ARD/IEP meeting notices have a start and end time. The notice template in EasyIEP includes a meeting beginning and end time.
ARD/IEP meetings will have a clear agenda with time specified for each item on the agenda. A sample agenda is in the Resources section of this page. List agenda topics that are specific to the purpose of the meeting.
The timed agenda, along with a copy of the draft IEP will be sent to parents and all meeting participants in advance of the meeting so that everyone can come prepared.
It may be a good idea to designate a time keeper for the meeting so that participants can adhere to the meeting schedule.
The audio equipment must be checked prior to the meeting, and placed next to the translator in order to obtain an audible recording
The recording must be checked at the conclusion of the meeting to ensure that it is audible.
If it is not audible, a written translated copy of the IEP shall be provided to the parent/adult student, and
Digital recording is encouraged.
At the end of the ARD/IEP meeting if it is determined that an additional meeting is warranted, another meeting can be scheduled, again with a clear purpose, beginning and end time, and with a timed agenda.
Parents have a right to bring advocates to ARD/IEP meetings. All participants are expected to exhibit professional conduct during the meeting. Rudeness and abusive language cannot be tolerated and such behavior can be cause for discontinuing the meeting.
The meeting can be resumed when professional conduct can be expected from all. ARD/IEP meetings must have a campus administrator or designee present. They have the authority to intervene in case of unprofessional conduct by staff/parents/advocates.
Guidelines for ARD/IEP Meetings when English is not the native language
If the parent’s/adult student's native language is Spanish, the district will provide a written copy or audio recording of the IEP translated in Spanish.
The audio copy of the meeting shall contain all required elements of the IEP discussed during the meeting.
If the parent’s/adult student's native language is a language other than Spanish, the district will make a good faith effort to provide the parent/adult student with a written copy or audio recording of the IEP translated in their native language.
A written copy of the student's IEP translated into Spanish or the parent’s/adult student's native language means that all of the text in the student's IEP in English is accurately translated into the target language in written form. The IEP translated into the target language must be a comparable rendition of the IEP in English and not a partial translation or summary of the IEP in English.
An audio recording of the student's IEP translated into Spanish or the parent’s/adult student's native language means that all of the content in the student's IEP in English is orally translated into the target language and recorded with an audio device.
The district is not prohibited from providing the parent with an audio recording of an ARD/IEP team meeting at which the parent/adult student was assisted by an interpreter as long as the audio recording contains an oral translation into the target language of all of the content in the student's IEP in English.
If the parent’s/adult student's native language is not a written language, the district must take steps to ensure that the student's IEP is translated orally or by other means to the parent/adult student in their native language or other mode of communication.
The district must give the parent/adult student a written copy of the student's IEP at no cost. The district meets this requirement by providing the parent/adult student with a written copy of the student's IEP in English or by providing a parent with a written translation of the student's IEP in the parent’s/adult student's native language.
The District will make every effort to provide an accurate translation of the IEP meeting and/or documents, for all regulatory, audit, and legal purposes; however, the English document is the only official document. Should any dispute arise over the contents of an IEP, the only document that shall be considered official shall be the English document.
What's Required
Each local educational agency (LEA) must establish an admission, review and dismissal (ARD) committee for each eligible child with a disability and for each child for whom an initial Full and Individual Evaluation is conducted 19 TAC 89.1050 The ARD/IEP Committee is the: (1) Eligiblity team defined in federal law IDEA 2004, 34 CFR 300.306 (2) Individualized education program (IEP) team definded in federal law IDEA 2004, 34 CFR 300.321 (3) Placement team defined in federal law IDEA 2004,34 CFR 300.116. The term IEP means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed and revised in accordance with the ARD/IEP committee framework. The ARD committee must review the child's IEP periodically, but not less frequently than annually, to determine whether the annual goals are being achieved. The ARD committee must determine the child's placement at least annually 34 CFR 300.116(b)(1). The ARD/IEP Committee may meet more often than annually to revise the student’s IEP, as appropriate, to address: (a) any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals, (b) the results of any reevaluation, (c) information about the student provided to, or by the parents, (d) anticipated needs of the student or (e) other concerns. A parent may request an ARD/IEP committee meeting (at a mutually agreeable time) at any time to discuss educational concerns such as placement, IEP goals and objectives, and the extent of services being provided to the student. The school must either grant the parent’s request to have a meeting or contact the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to ask for assistance through mediation.
The ARD committee means a group of individuals composed of:
HISD Board Policy
What We Do
The IEP must be in effect at the beginning of each school year for every student with a disability. The ARD/IEP Committee includes the following participants (general composition):
A member of the ARD/IEP committee may be excused from attending part or all of the ARD/IEP committee meeting when the person’s attendance is not necessary due to the person’s area of the curriculum or related service not being modified or discussed in the meeting.
A member of the ARD/IEP Committee may also be excused from attending an ARD/IEP committee meeting when the meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the member’s area of curriculum or related service if:
Duties of the ARD/IEP Committee
The ARD/IEP Committee makes decisions concerning the educational program for students who are eligible to receive special education services. Among other responsibilities, the ARD/IEP Committee performs the following functions:
- Reviews data from the student’s assessments and evaluations
- Establishes eligibility for special education services
- Develops and reviews the IEP which may include: ESY Services, Behavior, Graduation, Transition, and Transportation
- Provides an audio-taped copy of the student’s ARD/IEP committee meeting in the parent’s native language if the parent does not speak and understand English
- Provide for educational placement in the least restrictive environment appropriate to meet the needs of the student
- Makes decisions regarding promotion or retention of the student receiving special education services
- Makes decisions about student participation in extra curricular activities
.Duties of the ARD/IEP Chairperson and or Case Manager
ARD/IEP Committee Training
All ARD/IEP committee members, including all administrators who participate on the committee, will be trained annually. Training will include information on new federal, state, and local guidelines related to the implementation of special education services. A representative of the special education support staff will provide training and or training information/resources.
Guidelines for ARD/IEP Meetings
Review these guidelines to ensure that meetings are held in an effective, efficient, and respectful manner:
Guidelines for ARD/IEP Meetings when English is not the native language
Forms
Resources